A year after winning the Big Cheesy with three recipes, Manhattan’s Melt Shop went back to back with just one: Widmer’s aged cheddar and brick spread with Nueske’s thick-cut bacon and cranberry onion chutney on Levain Locale bread. A second-day surge allowed Spencer Rubin’s shop to edge out Say Cheese UWS and Sons of Essex to claim the Big Cheesy Champion Cheeseboard. With more than 1,500 guests, Big Cheesy gave New Yorkers the chance to vote for their favorite. Congrats to Melt Shop, Say Cheese, Sons of Essex for placing top three! And, to ‘wichcraft, Murray’s Cheese Bar, Milk Truck and Lucy’s Whey, thanks for joining and helping New Yorkers have the best afternoon of the year. Keep on expanding those cheesy empires! And, check out dozens of pictures courtesy of Openhouse and fromage-homaging guests. (And if that’s not enough: Meet the contestants in this N9 video).

Lucy's Whey's wich included buttered pan de pie, sharp cheddar from the Cabot Coop in Vermont, local apple butter with a hint of chili chutney, a layer of fromage blank and a slice of ham. (Photo: @carolinebytes)